Preview: Stormers v Waratahs

The Stormers will be determined to end their barren run of results when they host the Waratahs in Cape Town on Saturday.

The Stormers will be determined to end their barren run of results when they host the Waratahs in Cape Town on Saturday.

The past week has been an eventful period for the men from the Cape. Allister Coetzee and his charges have returned from a difficult Australasian tour - where they lost all four their matches - while former Stormers coach Gert Smal has also been appointed as the franchise's new director of rugby.

While Smal's new role will not involve direct coaching of the senior team there's no doubt that he will be watching this game closely and several of the home side's players will be determined to impress their new boss.

Adding to the hosts' pressure is the absence of regular skipper Jean de Villiers through injury. Damian de Allende will wear the Stormers' number 12 jersey and Coetzee is confident his midfield partnership with Juan de Jongh will make up for De Villiers' absence.

"Depth is crucial in this competition," he said. "

Having Juan de Jongh back to full fitness, following his comeback from a pre-season knee injury, means that we can still field a formidable centre combination - with Juan and Damian - in Jean's absence.

"Jean and a few other players will benefit from this two-week rest period, with next week being a bye, and more players will be returning after the brief break."

Another Stormers player who will keen to impress is number eight Duane Vermeulen, who takes over the captaincy in De Villiers' absence. Vermeulen has not been at his best in previous matches and it will be interesting to see how he performs with addditional pressure of leadership weighing on his shoulders.

The Stormers hold the upperhand in matches against the Waratahs having won 62% of their home games against the Sydneysiders since the 1998 season, which included victories in their last two encounters at Newlands in 2012 and 2013.

Unfortunately for the hosts, however, their attack has let them down in the first seven rounds, with the team scoring only nine tries in their six matches compared to the Waratahs' 17 tries in five matches.

Adding to that, is the fact that the Waratahs are currently the best defensive team in the competition. In their five previous matches, they have only conceded eight tries and 94 points overall.

Defence plays a pivotal role in the visitors' game-plan. They have an 89 percent tackle success rate, which is the best in the tournament, and none of the Waratahs are amongst the the top 30 for missed tackles.

They will also be less dangerous on attack, after it was revealed that Israel Folau will, for the second week in a row, not be in action due to a throat injury.

Folau's absence was felt in last weekend's 32-10 loss to the Sharks and coach Michael Cheika has moved another dangerous attacker, Kurtley Beale, to full-back for this encounter. Beale has impressed at inside centre in his previous matches this season but is equally at home at the back and should still keep the Stormers' defenders busy.

Prediction: With both sides relying heavily on defence, dont expect too many tries in this match. The Stormers always seem to lift themselves in front of their home fans but that won't be enough this weekend. Waratahs to win by four points!